Buddhism is the Western term for the teaching of the Buddha of the religion founded by the Buddha. In the East it is known as the Buddha ?Sasana.
?Buddha is not a name. It is a title, meaning the Enlightened One or the Awakened One. The Buddha?s personal name was Siddhattha and his clan name was Gotama. Thus he was sometimes called Siddhattha Gotama. Few people, however, now make use of these names. They simply call him the Buddha or Gotama the Buddha.
The Buddha lived 25 centuries ago in North India. He was born a prince of the Sakyan Kingdom which was located at the foot of the Himalayas. His father, who was the king ruling over the Sakyans, was called Suddhodana. The Queen who was the prince?s mother was called Mahamaya. As a prince, he grew up in the midst of luxary, led the happy life of a privileged youth and married princess Yasodhara, his beautiful cousin, who bore him a son, Rahula.
The princely luxurious life, however, could not shut the eyes of a wise and thoughtful person like him from the realities of life. Thus, in spite of his father?s efforts to keep his mind attached to the world and satisfied with the enjoyment of the sensual pleasure within the palace gate, he became aware of the dark side of life, the sorrows of his fellow beings and the fleeting nature of all worldly things.
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The historical person we know as the Buddha was an Indian prince of the Sakya people living in North India. He renounced the right to the throne, became a religious seeker early in his life and then after reaching enlightenment he became a spiritual teacher. His given name was SIDDHARTHA and his clan name was GOTAMA. He was not called the Buddha in his early years, but acquired this designation only in his 35th year after he attained enlightenment.
The word Buddha is not simply a title given to one particular individual, but it is a designation given to a kind of individual. It represents not a single unique person, but a type of person. Only one Buddha can appear in any historical period. But throughout the cycles of world evolution, there have been many Buddhas appearing one at a time separated by vast intervals. Siddhartha Gotama is only the most recent Buddha and there will be many more Buddhas to come.
